I got so busy with other things that I forgot to finish my Sunday post about our trip to Fort Worth on Saturday. We were disappointed with the experience, until we went over to Bluebonnet Circle near the TCU campus. Quite by accident we found a delightful little shop, well actually two shops in one, that had just the kind of eclectic mix of merchandise that we like to see: Stella’s and Full Circle Emporium, located at 3460 Bluebonnet Circle. They saved the day for us.

We had stopped to take pictures of the audaciously painted longhorn steer statues. On that traffic circle, we couldn’t find a parking place. When we finally did, we were right in front of a couple of tiny shops and decided to check them out.

Mickie Cooles, the proprietor, said that she had operated Full Circle Emporium for about 9 years. She described it as a store filled with “unique finds and one of a kind” items. Some are handmade by local artists. It was an impressive collection for such a tiny space.

Views of Full Circle Emporium

I found an item I had to have. It was a delicious little handmade purse, woven with candy wrappers. That’s right. Did you ever take gum wrappers and fold them to make chains? These are crafted the same way, but the creators discovered a way to make a seamless purse from those little folded pieces. Supposedly the purses are made by women who are in prison in Mexico; it’s their way to make money for their families. Cooles told me that if I carried one, I should expect to get attention. I like attention, so I bought a red clutch purse, because I had to have it. I can’t wait to go show it off.

I’d send you to her website to buy one of these purses, but her shop doesn’t have one yet. I tried to search for information on the purses on-line, but didn’t find the exact same ones. I found some that are made in the US on-line at Ecoist. If you aren’t in the Fort Worth area, but need one of these, you can find it here.

Cooles said that when the space next door to her Emporium came available about seven months ago, she decided to expand and opened Stella’s, “a different perspective on shopping.” Stella’s is named for a pooch who hangs out in the shop and greets the customers. She is very friendly—unless you reach to pet her when she is working on her chew bone. Stella is so busy she could hardly stop for a photograph.

The shop that Cooles calls Stella’s is “a shop of shops.” Cooles rents small spaces to artists and other entrepreneurs who display everything from clothing and accessories to artwork. It’s full of eye-catching merchandise. As an added bonus, on Saturdays the shop serves complimentary Mimosas. Tasty! And, if you get this shopper loose enough, she’ll open her pocketbook without thinking.

Views of Stella’s

This Saturday, March 31^st, from 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m., Stella’s is one of the sponsors for Spring Gallery Night, 2007. Featured artists will be Eric K. Stevens, Janice Boswell, Sally Jan Harris, CANVASIA, Qiana Owens, Judy Lamb, Giulia Brooks, Lois Lambert, Shayna Weeden and Melissa Schoepflin. I don’t know who those artists are, but it doesn’t matter, because Stella’s is offering wine and refreshments. You’ll be doggone glad you did.

Yesterday, I gave up the computer long enough to make a foray to Fort Worth in search of a new favorite vintage clothing store. I didn’t find one. That made me a little disappointed in Cow Town. When I was younger, I always preferred it to Dallas. You’d have to live around here to know the difference. Though I can find no reference to this, I always heard that the late great Molly Ivins said that the difference between Dallas and Fort Worth is that in Dallas they call it “sushi” and in Fort Worth we call it “bait.”

We’ve found so many wonderful stores in Dallas, like The House of Dang, Dolly Python, the Vintage Factory and one I intend to post about soon called Ahab Bowen. It would have been difficult for Fort Worth to have anything that could compare to their artsy-fartsy funk.

Armed with our Yahoo Yellow Pages maps, my husband and I went first to the Arts District, expecting that to be the place for the type of store we sought. We found a couple of thrift stores,but the only “vintage store,” called “Atom” was only open by appointment. How rude! They looked interesting, but just for that I’m not going to talk about them.

Driving down Seventh Street, we wheeled into the newly renovated Montgomery Ward Building. It served as a distribution center for “Monkey Ward,” as my parents called it. In 2000, it was hit by the tornado that ripped through Cow Town. In 2001, Montgomery Wardwent out of business. I was glad to see that it has been renovated into Montgomery Plaza.

Montgomery Wards Building Before

Montgomery Plaza After

We stopped and ate at a delightful place called Gloria’s Restaurant. The aroma is what really drew us in, but I had the gall to ask diners on the patio if it was worth a stop. I always embarrass my husband like that, but he continues to hang around with me.

Gloria’s was Tex/Mex/El Salvadoran food. We had the most marvelous tamales that have ever touched my tongue. They were steamed wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. The inside was filled with chicken, potatoes, sweet peppers and tomatoes. We also ordered Platano frito, or fried plantain, served with black beans and sour cream. Those were just our appetizers! Visit their website above to see the full menu. We gorged ourselves on those delightful tastes. But, the good thing about that is it meant I wouldn’t have to cook supper.

After waddling to the car and attempting to strap ourselves in with the seatbelts, we decided to head over to the other side of town near the university campus hoping for better shopping luck. We wound up near Bluebonnet Circle, where we spotted huge painted longhorns in a park. Yes, it’s ugly, but it’s part of the charm. Sadly, vandals had broken the horns on most of them, so we only have the pictures of the one.

It was on Bluebonnet Circle that we found the favorite store of our outing. Actually, it’s two stores in one. But, you will have to check back tomorrow. It deserves a post of its own.

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Mineola, Texas is a jewel of a town. It’s located at the junction of Highways 69 and 80 in east Texas and it’s in Wood County, which is “home” to “my people.” In Texas small towns, the first thing folks ask is “where are your people from?” Actually, that’s the second. The first is “WHO are your people?”

That was a good enough reason for me to want to check it out on the way to visit to Tyler last weekend. I also liked reading that supposedly in 1873 a man named Major Ira H. Evans named the town after his daughter, Ola, and a friend named Minnie Patton. That’s probably a good thing, because the town was called “Sodom” before that. I don’t know whether that was a commentary on the citizens, or a case of “What were they thinking?”

It doesn’t resemble a “Sodom” these days. The town is lined with charming antique stores, a spectacular coffee shop, some interesting looking restaurants, a train depot museum, and one store that drew me like a magnet. What kind of store? A vintage clothing store (everybody who has read any other posts knows that).

It’s called “Retroactive,” and it rivals any vintage store I’ve seen from Dallas to Houston and in-between. The aroma of incense fills the air. The Supremes croon in the background while you shop. The clothing is displayed artfully, and it isn’t crammed together haphazardly. It almost takes you right back to the sixties—if you were there in the first place. However, I’m told by people older than myself that “if you remember the Sixties you weren’t really there.” I wouldn’t know what that means.

I was wondering how such a fine vintage store wound up in a tiny east Texas town. I asked the proprietor, Miss Linda, about that. She said that she came to Mineola from Oregon, though she grew up in California and lived in San Francisco in her twenties.

I said, “Why in the world did you come here, then?” She told me that she had two children of her own and then adopted six children from the same family. She didn’t want them led astray by city life. She had visited friends in Mineola and liked the town. When she heard that the schools still had corporal punishment, she packed up the kids and moved here, because she wanted those children to grow up right. I fell in love with her!

Linda travels all over the United States gathering her vintage clothing. Her selection is quite varied and of excellent quality. I’ve never seen finer. But, the prices are so reasonable that even the kids in town can afford to shop there. She told me that she laughs when little girls ask her, “Miss Linda, is this dress a size 12?” She answers, “Yes, honey, but in those days size 12 was much smaller.” Indeed it was.

The town of Mineola is well worth a visit if you are passing through. In fact, I’d like to go back to it for a whole day, because I think I could easily spend that much time and not see everything. Heck I could spend all day at Miss Linda’s shop. If you decide to go there be sure to stop at Retroactive, at 104 N. Johnson Street. Tell her Shelly says, “Hey.”